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| Details |
| Author: | Alli |
| Summary: | The final battle against Deathwing begins, and Cobalt is there to fight alongside the Aspects and others. The log includes Almeiria, Ralaea, Anareline, Jocoza, Sil, Atley, Auralind, Ben, Shine, Brannagen, Caspis, Tyrrell, Cressidha, Estel, Kyris, Pericleia, Gwenivene, Shun, and Velrin. ~9600 words. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
The Chase
As the injured Deathwing swoops off into the distance, the Alliance airship draws level with the Temple. Captain Swayze waves to the Aspects, Thrall, and the fighters, and calls, “Welcome aboard the Skyfire. Are you ready to chase down the end of the world?”
"Hell yes we are, sir." Ben's furious gaze has followed the wounded black dragon into the distance. He turns his head to spit on the ground — on the ground which is the roof of Wyrmrest Temple, and somewhere Mizzy has a sudden pang of heartburn — and strides toward the airship.
Shine does not dignify the question with a response; he, too, heads silently for the airship.
Velrin's eyes seem to gleam even brighter and she strides forward onto the airship.
Shun grunts lowly. He's about as ready as one could be for this sort of thing. He goes on to follow the others on board.
Estel boards the airship with Shun. She looks alert and energetic today.
"Quickly, get on board! Swift feet!" Auralind barks.
Gwen blinks aboard the Skyfire, suddenly materializing on deck and immediately backpedaling to avoid being run over by a hurried deck hand.
Tyrrell follows the rest of the 7th Legion units who have been ordered onto the airship, shifting preemptively into his black-furred worgen form in an unusual display of acceptance of it.
Brannagen tags along with the rest of the Cobalt crowd, red hair and beard blowing wildly in the frigid wind. Above cold-reddened cheeks his turquoise eyes rove the entire area, never seeming to settle on any one person or thing. If he's nervous there is no particular indication of it in his posture or facial expression.
Atley squints at the noise of the airship, and raises his head, jaw set, a sort of peacefulness settling in his eyes. His tabard and cloak flap in the wind jostled by the gigantic propellers.
He raises Thunderfury and examines its twin blades. Thunderaan’s essence has a brief outburst, a stray flick of lightning dancing across the sword, before Atley nods at Caspis and yells, “Time to end this!” He walks backward onto the airship, raising Thunderfury high over his head towards his comrades.
In response, Caspis gives a snarl of enthusiasm, his fangs showing briefly before he shifts into the form of the hulking black Doomkin, burnt-tree antlers towering above his companions.
Caspis grimly autofollows Atley onto the ship, most of his face concealed under his avian hood other than the ragged dark stubble growing out along his jaw. His current set of leather armor is new and still a bit stiff, lacking the character and scuffs of the one that he always wore before the battle with Staghelm.
Ralaea all but runs onto the airship, moving as far as she can in the direction Deathwing flew and leaning over the railing as if she can somehow get even closer. A sharpened wooden plank is strapped to her back, and her misshapen bag looks weighed down, as if it contains a sizable rock. (It does.) She is ready.
Almeiria drifts aboard, looking less than eager to chase a burning dragon on a wooden sky ship.
Kyris stalks on board. He salutes Captain Swayze with an expression of mild irritation - or maybe that's just his face.
Cressidha boards the airship without fanfare, pulling a pair of goggles on.
"You can count on Cobalt, sir," Jo says firmly, as she blinks onto the airship. She and Gwen blink alike.
Anareline walks onto the airship at Caspis's side, looking at the contraption warily.
Sil steps in quietly near the back of the crowd, his hands already on his knives as if Deathwing might come back for a pass against them.
The Aspects hastily get on board, and set up at the front of the deck. The Aspects assemble a shield around Thrall, to protect him until the time comes to take another strike at Deathwing.
“All ahead full. Everything depends on our speed! We can't let the Destroyer get away,” Captain Swayze calls as the ship takes off into the clouds after the fallen Aspect.
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Atley lingers near the aspects. He takes up a position on the upper deck, starboard side, his gauntlet locked onto the railing as he glares out over the clouds.
Jo starts trying to gather the Cobalts in the same general area, over by Dane.
Ralaea keeps straining to see better, gaze locked in the direction Deathwing went, a compass fixated on a single point.
Caspis takes very little herding; he is already shadowing Dane. Brannagen, on the other hand, doesn't move until he notices that the group as a whole is converging on a point; then he cheerily trots over to join them.
Kyris is easily gathered up. His hooded cloak flaps dramatically in the breeze as the airship speeds along.
Ben stands at the fore as well, just behind the Aspects, to take up a vigilant stance on the other side of the deck from Dane.
Shine has melted into the general Cobalt scrum somewhere. He will not jostle anyone invisibly, he is talented like that.
Pericleia has taken up a defensive position near the Aspects, but she listens to Jo.
At first, the Skyfire is simply all speed ahead, but that doesn't last. Soon airship is beset by Twilight cultists riding some of the remaining twilight drakes, led by a tauren on the back of a larger twilight dragon — Warmaster Blackthorn.
The cultists do some damage to the ship as they swoop back and forth, but the Skyfire's gunners do an admirable job of shooting them out of the sky. Cobalt and the other ground forces on deck handle any the cultists that drop in from dragonback.
“Eyes up!” Atley shield bashes a deck bound cultist over the edge and into the giant propeller below. They are promptly disintegrated.
Ben slams waves of Light outward across the deck beneath the cultists' feet, and stuns one with a flung hammer.
Shine appears behind another to cut his throat neatly from ear to ear and then take him by the collar and sling him over the rail. One gets the sense he has done Shipboard Murders before.
Jo quickly sets up a series of lingering flames across the floor of the deck, while Sil darts in and out attacking anyone who lands. Ana stays by Dane, distracting the incoming cultists from more vulnerable members of the team.
A pair of cultists find themselves with poisoned blades in their throats before they even reach the deck and topple down to the ground below. Velrin emerges from the origin of those blades and rushes forward to take care of the rest.
A cultist lands in a Hero Crouch on the deck right in front of Brannagen, then prepares her weapon to stabby-stab.
"Nae the dwarf yer lookin' for," says Bran. And then suddenly the cultist is gazing confusedly around, having forgotten whom she was targeting. Bran fades back into view on the other side of the deck, chuckling.
Auralind stifles a wry comment to Dane about her eyes — not the time, soldier. Ears twitching, an arrow looses every time she hears a cultist's feet hit the deck.
Mordecai places a chipped ceramic bowl down on the deck and pours some holy water in it. He has to brace it with his feet to keep it from sliding, but soon the bowl ignites into a proper Lightwell that begins emitting healing mist.
As one cultist lands they are immediately kicked off the ship from an invisible assassin. Shun shadowsteps to stab another.
Two cultists land on either side of Gwenivene, who shrieks in surprise! In a moment of panic, she squeals, "My spell a-splode!", and arcane energy explodes repeatedly around her, pummeling the two assailants into submission.
Almeiria mumbles her opinion about the 'wooden sky boat,' guess what, it's negative, then focuses her attention on the drakes, an effort made to slow them down so the cannons can remove them easier. Self-preservation has ever been her priority.
Ralaea vents her frustration on any cultist who gets near her. How dare they keep her from her target!
On Deathwing’s Spine
Eventually, the airship catches up – it seems the Skyfire is faster than an injured Aspect. Deathwing becomes visible through the clouds below, flying above an expanse of sea. From the heading, it seems like Deathwing is flying directly towards the Maelstrom. The Skyfire matches Deathwing’s speed and starts to try to get closer without alerting him to our presence.
“Grab a parachute!” Swayze cries.
There is a stack of parachutes on deck, for just this reason! Or, you know, probably for air safety reasons. But there are plenty of parachutes.
Cressidha grabs a handful of feathers. And then a parachute. To be safe.
Brannagen levitates, and also grabs a parachute. "WOO HOO!!" he yells.
Jo grabs a backup parachute as well. "Looks like we're jumping down to Deathwing."
Velrin quickly throws on a parachute and steels herself for action.
Atley looks from Swayze, to Jocoza, and then to Ben, before he scoffs with amusement and disconnects his cloak, letting it fly off into the wind over the ocean. He tugs his parachute on and clips it into place.
Ben assesses the parachutes dubiously — he is a big guy in full plate armor — but dutifully secures his shield and hammer and straps on a parachute.
Shine is already wearing his and poised expectantly at the rail.
The 7th Legion parachutes in disciplined formation. They have their own parachutes. They match.
Pericleia has a parachute strapped on and ready to use, but she remains in place by the Aspects, as a protector.
"We're… sorry, we're what?" Almeiria does not look impressed by this idea. She still grabs a parachute.
Ralaea, however, grins and prepares. She is so ready.
Auralind claps a hand on Caspis's shoulder. "I need you to guide me down, bond-brother."
Caspis was just on the point of turning into a bird, but instead he grabs a parachute and helps Auralind.
Shine absently relocates a few knives on his person so that the parachute's presence does not interfere with ready access. He is assessing the upcoming jump.
Atley gives his parachute straps a tug to doublecheck their security before he visually inspects the chutes of those around him, nodding. “Below deck, you lot!” He readies himself by the railing.
Estel fusses with making sure Shun's parachute is on correctly after she secures her own.
Swayze is the first eager jumper, and he looks up to shout instructions at those floating down behind him.
“The plates! He's coming apart! Tear up the plates and we've got a shot at bringing him down!” Moments later, four tentacles of flame snake up from Deathwing’s back, and one tosses Swayze off the side of the dragon. As he falls, he calls out, “Don't worry about me. Stop the Destroyer! Enshu-falah-nah, dorini.”
Then, Swayze is gone.
Everyone else is now landing on the unsteady, elementium-plated ground that is Deathwing’s back. The four tentacles whip around at the combatants. Up towards the base of his neck is an area where one of his elementium plates has been destroyed by the blast from the Dragon Soul. Three others nearby are loosened and damaged. If the team can remove them as well, then there will be a clear opening for the next attack with the Dragon Soul.
Cressidha flicks a feather in Swayze's direction just in case.
Swayze probably appreciates that.
As nervous as she was about the parachute idea (or maybe because of her nerves), Gwenivene cannot help giggling all the way down. But once she is on solid ground dragon, she gets serious. "Do we just…smash the plates?"
Ralaea, already smashing the moment she gets down, looks up. "What?" she calls.
Sil lands lightly, moving towards the neck. "I think that's what he said, yeah."
Jo lands on the dragon's back, eyeing the tentacles nervously. "We might need some explosives."
Anareline lands and immediately tries to place herself between the tentacles and the others.
"Aye! Start hammering him!" Atley growls. He lands one knee, and raises Thunderfury over his head to cleanly slice through his parachute lines before charging the tentacles of flame. He smashes the 'ground' with a shockwave to get their attention.
"BREAK THE PLATES!"
Mordecai tries to find somewhere to stand where he will not get scooped up by a tentacle.
Jo blinks over to Ralaea. "I have grenades. Do you have grenades? We could set them under the plates."
"Yeah! Shine's probably got some too," Ralaea says. "We the bomb squad, then?"
A coordinated 7th Legion unit begins levering something underneath the edge of one of the plates to work on prying it up.
Jo nods, and looks around for Shine. "Bombs! 7th's got one of the plates, and maybe the others can get a second. Third is us, bombs!"
Shine lands easily, balanced on the moving back of the dragon at once, and detaches his parachute to let it fly off in the wind. He nods at Jo and sprints up the dragon's spine toward the armor plates. A tentacle rises before him and he pauses to flash to the other side of it and slice it apart.
Jo nods at him and blinks up to one of the plates, starting to set explosives.
Bombs and giant metal plates are well outside of Velrin's expertise, so she decides to help by backing up Dane and keeping the tentacles under control.
Having returned to elven form for the parachute down, Caspis lets out one cry of "Aria Xaxas! Andu-falah-dor!" before shifting into moonkin form and waiting to spot a vulnerable place to cast some vengeful moonlight.
"I'M RIDIN' DEATHWING!!" Brannagen shouts.
Deathwing may have heard that last shout. He cries out, the flesh rumbling beneath the fighters’ feet at his words, "Your tenacity is admirable, but pointless. You ride into the jaws of the apocalypse."
Almeiria tries to focus on the tentacles, but her unease is visibly growing.
Cressidha attempts to put out the fiery tentacles with copious amounts of ice.
One tentacle lashes out at Dane splashing him with Deathwing’s corrupted blood. He feels suddenly, deeply unwell.
Atley's attacks slow abruptly. He keeps his shield raised but slowly shakes his head back and forth.
A bow isn't going to be much use against a massive elementium plate. So Auralind stows Rhok'delar and takes up her spear, finding a crack in the metal and striking it repeatedly.
Ben is trying to keep his own balance as the dragon attempts to shake them off. He gets his feet planted and begins hammering at the dragon with Light. It has less effect than he would like against the burning, armor-plated colossus.
"Healing! Healing on me," Atley growls, hot red blood bubbling out of his mouth as he takes to swaying faintly. He braves another strike at the tentacles.
Estel Shields Dane and channels a ray of Light that slams three waves of healing into him. Only by the third pulse of the beam does it seem to have any effect.
"Once we've got an opening, there's something I have to do," Ralaea informs Shine and Jocoza. She nods towards the wooden plank on her back, before setting her own bombs up for the blast.
“Understood,” Jo says, but she doesn’t really look like she understands.
“You are less than dust, fit only to be brushed from my back,” Deathwing says, and he rolls to the right.
"Quick, to the left!" Jo calls out.
Atley leaps to the left and swings his head to the right, looking to the others.
Jo blinks away, her own explosives set.
Velrin drops low and widens her stance, effortlessly keeping her footing on the thrashing dragon.
Kyris keeps his balance easily as he runs along the dragon's back.
Caspis staggers and nearly falls off the beast's back.
Brannagen, oddly enough, was already moving left before Deathwing rolled to the right.
Shine, adding his own grenades to the explosive charges already set, nods at Rae as he steps back. Then he shifts abruptly with a swift sidestep to the other side of the dragon's spine at Jo's cry.
Ben takes a moment to understand the problem and nearly loses it; he scrambles uphill over the central spine ridge of the dragon's back at the last moment to put himself in the clear.
Ralaea scrambles after Jocoza, fighting to avoid being thrown.
Almeiria, too, shifts her positioning, but she is only barely in time.
A couple of the explosives just arranged along the dragon's armor plate tumble off into oblivion.
The explosives at the plate go off and the plate twists back in a screech of metal. The 7th Legion has pretty much destroyed their plate, too. Others, attacking the third plate, are close to making a nice hole for a Dragon Soul to shoot through.
Auralind plants her spear, wedging it into the dragon's scales and holding on for dear life.
“Cling while you can, "heroes". You and your world are doomed,” Deathwing says, righting after the roll.
Gwenivene's reflexes are not so well honed as most of her allies. She is thrown off her feet, tumbling end-over-end…and right off of Deathwing's back. "MUSTARD BURRRrrrrrps…!" In the last glimpse of her, she is wrapping herself in a slow falling spell.
"GWEN!" Jo cries out, her face twisting in anguish. Then she takes a few quick breaths and repeats to herself quietly, "She was casting slow fall… She was casting slow fall…"
Mordecai reaches a hand out, but Gwen is too far from him.
Atley briefly watches Gwenivene fall towards the seemingly limitless expanse of blurry blue sea below before he leaps to Auralind's side and drives Thunderfury into the same wedge. His lips peel back, teeth grinding with exertion as he puts his whole strength into lifting his plate up, his thick legs trembling with the effort.
Velrin joins him, gripping the plate with one hand while she tries to sever the flesh holding it on with a dagger in her other hand. Her armor strains against her muscles as she lifts with all the strength she can muster.
Another tentacle lashes over and encircles Ben, pinning him firmly in place and preventing him from taking any action. The blood and fire seep into Ben as the tentacle grips tighter.
Ben swears and attempts futilely to struggle against the pinning tentacle, his eyes wide.
Shine dives toward one side with an urgent hand out as Gwen falls, but is also too late. He turns to the tentacle holding Ben and begins grimly to attempt to cut it away. He did his part with the explosives; daggers won't do much to pry that colossal armor plate further.
"Ben!" Sil calls. "The tentacle's got 'im." Sil starts slashing at the tentacle wildly, trying to cut it off Ben.
Cressidha focuses her ice on the tentacle holding Ben.
One of the few things that could possibly tear Ralaea from her target: Ben is in danger. She charges the tentacle, helping Sil in his efforts to cut it away.
The tentacle falls away in a splatter and Ben cusses again and heaves himself to his feet. He nods breathlessly at his rescuers.
Shine steps back, flipping a dagger to hold it in reverse and scanning for his next tentacular target.
By now, there is a nice square hole in the elementium armor of Deathwing, a good vulnerable spot for a legendary weapon to strike. And… Thrall strikes.
The Fall to the Maelstrom
Thrall takes aim and shoots with the Dragon Soul directly through Deathwing’s heart, using the vulnerable spot the combatants have carefully provided. The beam of light lances through his body. Deathwing jerks with pain and shock, and tumbles to the Maelstrom below, which is ringed by small stony islets.
Mordecai squeaks in terror.
“MAGES, SLOW FALL!” Jo cries out in her loudest outdoor voice.
Cressidha tosses her handful of feathers up in the air.
Shine's eye widens and he attempts nimbly for a moment to keep his footing on the plummeting dragon. When Cressidha's feathers fly, he gives up the effort and leaps free.
Ben in his armor just plummets like a guy in a lot of armor, until the spell catches up with him and he slows to a relieved drift. "THANKS," he hollers upward, because Polite Lad.
As soon as Velrin feels the effect of Cress's spell she leaps off of Deathwing's back and drifts her way down.
Atley stumbles as Deathwing's struck. He yanks Thunderfury free, and staggers to the edge, slowly as he nudges others forward his shield. "Move! Move! GET OFF! Mind the landing!"
Auralind clings to Altey. "If you do not mind, I could use a pair of eyes guiding me down."
Atley tightly wraps an arm around Auralind without a second thought. He extends his shield arm and tries to grasp Mordecai firmly around the back of his neck, attempting to half-shove, half-pull him from Deathwing's back. He aims for one of the jagged rocks of the Maelstrom below. "Move it!"
Mordecai pulls violently away the moment his neck is touched, but he looks back at Dane wide-eyed and nods. He moves it.
Atley leaps free with Auralind.
Caspis turns into a bird, but dives straight down along with Deathwing.
The dragons take flight from the Skyfire, Thrall on Ysera's back, and they swoop down to the rocky islets around the Maelstrom, using their wings to help people land on the rock by Ysera rather than the whirlpool.
Sil's face is pale, but he's holding onto his daggers as he drifts down towards the islet by the Maelstrom.
Ana's face is unreadable. She might be fine. She might be screaming inside.
Jo looks around curiously as she drifts down.
Ralaea clings to Deathwing until it is clear that doing so is a Really Bad Idea. She leaps clear, aiming for one of the small islets.
Almeiria levitates herself down, her shadows wrapping deeper and closer around her.
Brannagen can be heard calling "WOO HOOOOOoooooooo…." as he falls.
Shine lands in a half-crouch near the dragons on the islet and straightens up to assess the new situation.
Ben lands with a gentle thud and another cuss; slow fall does not aid him temporarily against whirlpool-spray-slick stone. As soon as he has his feet steady, his shield and hammer are ready again. He swivels a sharp gaze around them. "Gather up!" he calls.
The Aspects fly lower and each hover above one rocky platform. Ysera settles Thrall on the one the team has landed on.
“It is done. At last the Destroyer has met his end. Now we can begin to heal our world,” Thrall cries out.
“You have accomplished the impossible, succeeded where all Azeroth feared you would fail,” Alexstrasza says. “Allow me to thank you–”
“You may want to hurry with those thanks,” Nozdormu interrupts, looking down at the water.
The deformed shape of Deathwing lurches out of the Maelstrom, limbs and claws thrashing wildly. His limbs find purchase on four small islets, and he clings to them tightly. “You have done NOTHING. I will tear your world APART.”
Kyris mutters bitterly, "Of course it isn't over."
Auralind utters a word in Darnassian that has no direct translation to Common, but it's extremely uncouth.
Ben looks angrily unsurprised and braces himself in front of others.
Shine steps back with a low oath under his breath.
Velrin tightens her grip on her crescent and glares at Deathwing.
Atley guides Auralind to the rock where the rest are all clustered before he swings his gaze to the monstrous, deformed shape of Deathwing. His lips part in disbelief, eyes widened with rage and horror. He starts scrambling towards the abomination, boots sliding against wet stone. He raises the Lion Horn and sounds it, face reddening, issuing a deep, resounding boom in response to Deathwing's taunt.
Ralaea immediately leaps to one of his limbs and swings at it, hoping that now, at last, her blades will cut.
This time, it does. Deathwing doesn't fight back exactly, but she can hack away at his clawing limb, here on the platform with Ysera.
Shine reaches a warning hand out for Rae. C'mon, lad, let the big guys in front do their thing first.
Alexstrasza calls, “We will aid you as we can in this fight. You must pry him from the earth, so that we may destroy him fully.” Alexstrasza’s fiery magic blossoms all around us. “I bring you life, and I will cleanse whatever corruption I can; my fire will not harm you.”
“I will charge you with arcane energy to blast your foes,” Kalecgos calls, and the blue crackling of arcane envelopes us.
“I will give you speed, and slow the Destroyer's attacks when I can,” Nozdormu calls, and a shimmery dome of sand-colored time magic appears on the platform.
“I will strengthen your healing, and bring you closer to the Emerald Dream. Seek safety there when the fight becomes too intense,” Ysera cautions, and green, growing energy settles on the fighters like drifting leaves settling on the soil.
Thrall calls, “The wind will aid us. Leap without fear when you need, and the winds will carry you to the next platform.”
The Fight on the Platforms
"All righ', NOW it's a party!" Brannagen whoops as he begins his healing prayers.
Upon Thrall's boon, Thunderfury shakes and reverberates so deeply it may well be singing, becoming weightless in Atley's hand. Atley uses it to slice through the air to bring him closer to Deathwing's limb on his rock. [Heroic Leap]
Ben leaps and then charges forward to the claw embedded in this platform as a shimmering, multi-hued shield of dragon magic settles into him. He flings a hammer of Light outward with a shouted profanity that is the Ben version of a taunt.
Jo crackles with power, and takes in an exhilarated breath as she starts unloading fire onto the fiery limb.
Velrin slings her crescent across her chest and jumps. She unloads every last knife she has on Deathwing while the wind carries her toward her target.
Ana charges forward next to Dane and Ben, while Sil starts slicing at it from the side.
Auralind takes Rhok'delar in hand again, murmuring a prayer to Elune. "Minn'do, shanna anu eru nethar." This time, when she draws the Ancient Longbow of the Keepers, the arrow that forms glows with a blinding light, empowered by both Elune and Kalecgos's magic. She grins, baring her fangs, and unleashes arcane fury upon the thrashing Aspect of Death.
Estel leaps to another platform just to test out Thrall's boon, laughing.
The wind gamely carries her away to Nozdormu's platform.
The clawed limb itself doesn't attack, but suddenly, a large fiery tentacle emerges from the water nearby and lashes out towards the team, smashing down towards the center of the rock platform.
Ben's [Divine Guardian] spell falls across the group around him as he ducks away from the tentacle with his shield upraised.
Jo blinks away from the path of the tentacle.
Green energy blooms around Mordecai as he retreats into the Emerald Dream for a moment to avoid being smashed.
Atley briefly turns his back on Deathwing's entrenched claws to shield himself from the shockwave of the fiery tentacle, jaw set.
Shine dodges swiftly and finds himself momentarily in the Emerald Dream rather than the shadows. He emerges looking faintly startled.
Caspis sends a series of waves of regenerative energy toward him; the healing magic pulses with verdant intensity, empowered by Ysera's blessing.
The tentacle rises, rears back, and stabs directly at Auralind. There is a little time to consider a response, as it must pass through Nozdormu’s time bubble to reach her.
"Auralind!" Anareline calls in alarm. "The Dream!"
The sheer magnitude of the chaos has confused Auralind's normally precise senses. But Ana's voice is one sound she knows she can trust. Focusing on Ysera's blessing she reaches out for the Dream, feeling the intense heat of the oncoming tentacle moments before she slips to safety.
Anareline breathes a sigh of relief to see Auralind slip to safety, and then refocuses on the clawed limb.
Next, Deathwing starts some kind of channeling, his maddened, fiery eyes burning with rage.
Ysera calls out, “Deathwing is conjuring the final Cataclysm; even the Emerald Dream trembles. If we are to stop the spell, we must attack him together. If we destroy his limb, that will distract him.”
Ralaea is already working on the limb, but at Ysera's call, she pauses and glances up at the Aspect. "What?" she shouts over the noise.
Atley lunges back in alongside Rae, striking down at the limb with full strength, tireless and vicious. "Keep on him!" he snarls.
Kyris doggedly carves away at the limb.
Ralaea shrugs and returns her attention to the fight.
Finally, Deathwing’s claw loses its grip and slips back into the water. He roars in rage, and loses his focus briefly on calling the final cataclysm.
“The other three,” Ysera says, shifting her attention to Deathwing. “I will no longer be able to help you, but I will keep him from regaining a grip here. Go to Nozdormu!”
As Ysera shifts her attention to Deathwing, the Emerald Dream grows more distant and healing is no longer empowered.
Jo, Sil and Ana quickly wind-hop over to Nozdormu's platform.
Ben leaps. So does Shine.
Caspis changes into bird form, all the more swiftly to fly to his beloved Nozdormu.
Brannagen uses the wind-jump, whooping with delight as he does so.
"Hey!" Estel calls as everyone shows up at Nozdormu's platform.
Atley leaps to the next platform as well, dropping his rendered parachute in midair. It falls into the water and is quickly sucked down into the Maelstrom. Atley sprints across the platform to this next limb, moving with an unnatural haste.
Ralaea eagerly switches platforms.
Almeiria pauses before making the jump, staring into the water below, even her shadows trembling, as though she fears something might reach up from below to drag her down into the depths. When she is the last one remaining on her platform, finally, she jumps.
“Hurry, heroes,” Nozdormu calls as the new forces arrive. “Deathwing's Cataclysm will complete what he began and end the world. Join me in the attack, now!”
Another clawed limb holds tight to this platform. Deathwing spews a bolt of elementium towards the platform. “Your armor means nothing, your faith even less.”
The bolt strikes the edge of Nozdormu’s time distortion field and slows. Nozdormu calls, “Destroy it, before it lands!”
Ralaea growls at the distraction and throws a bomb at the bolt. There, she helped. Back to the limb.
The bomb soars more quickly than usual, helped along by the time field. It explodes against the bolt.
Jo starts casting a series of firebolts and pyroblasts at the elementium bolt with unusual haste and power.
Caspis sends a powerful stream of of lilac-silver moonlight toward the elementium bolt, blending with Jocoza's fire and creating structural instability.
Ben throws a blaze of Light outward at the slowing bolt.
Shine ducks in toward it with a flash of knives and then swiftly away again, wreathed in shadows.
Atley snaps his head to the right and charges in after the flames and shockwave of Ralaea's bomb have dissipated to start striking at the bolt with a Recklessness to his assault.
The bolt crumbles and dissipates into elementium dust in the time field, and the team is able to return focus to Deathwing's claw.
Auralind adjusts her aim to Deathwing's cuticles for maximum pain.
Ben hammers away at the claw furiously.
Shine slips to the other side of it — it doesn't matter, claws don't really have faces or backs — to attack.
Atley leaps back to the claw and focuses on a single digit, hacking repetitively and powerfully with all of the instincts of his lumberjack ancestry.
Velrin harries the claw with a rapid succession of vicious slashes.
It isn’t long before this claw, too, is knocked off the rock, and Deathwing once again roars with rage.
“I will hold him off here,” Nozdormu says. “Though I will no longer be able to aid you. To Alexstrasza!”
As Nozdormu shifts his attention to Deathwing, the time-bubble blinks out and the team no longer moves more quickly.
Estel makes a noise of disappointment as she returns to regular speed.
"We should've started on Alexstrasza's platform," Ralaea complains as she relocates.
Atley spins around to locate the Red Aspect, and leaps over the uproarious twisting waters of the Maelstrom to get to her.
Once again, Almeiria hesitates before the jump, but not for quite as long, this time.
Ben leaps unhesitatingly, although he lands nearer to the edge than he likes, evidently, without Nozdormu's speed. He mutters another oath and charges the claw.
Shine just shadowsteps.
Cressidha leaps with confidence and launches right into a volley of frost bolts the moment she lands.
As the team hops over, Deathwing once again begins a long channel, his effort to bring about the End.
“No! Such power! Deathwing's summoning of the final Cataclysm will destroy all life on Azeroth,” Alexstrasza cries, wreathing the platform in fire. “Quickly, we must interrupt him! Destroy his clawed limb!”
This time, scorching tentacles erupt around the limb, but are quickly consumed by Alexstrasza’s flames and a sparkle of Kalecgos’s arcane energy.
Atley glistens with the sweat of exertion and ocean spray as he charges in again, Thunderfury warbling and growling as if it held its own sentience. His eyes have grown wild with intensity.
The black Doomkin, standing at Dane's flank as always, adds some BEES to the mix. Deathwing likes bees, right?
Anareline seems unbothered by the dragon flames. She trusts the Dragon Queen.
Jo hastily puts a ward on herself, but the fire does, indeed, not burn.
Sil is looking decidedly sweaty now, but he is still stubbornly fighting the claw, arcane sparking off of his attacks with each blow.
Deathwing’s claw loses its grip, and he roars again, distracted from causing the apocalypse.
“To Kalecgos,” Alexstrasza says. “I will hold him off here, but I will not be able to help you while I do.”
The flames wink out, and we no longer feel bolstered by Alexstrasza’s life energy.
Atley nods once to Alexstrasza without looking and pounds his feet towards the edge of the platform to leap to Kalecgos. "He's faltering!" he yells at his comrades. "Keep it on!"
Ben charges and leaps once more.
Shine shadowsteps again, daggers slashing.
This is their furthest leap yet. Estel holds her arms out to the sides like they're wings, grinning.
Dane nearly loses his footing as he lands, but he rapidly corrects himself and scrambles towards the fourth limb.
“The Destroyer is gathering all his might for a blow that will split the world. Attack him, now!” Kalecgos calls, as the reinforcements arrive. “We must stop the final Cataclysm!”
As usual, there is the claw to attack. This time, globs of blood begin to creep in from the water, moving inexorably towards Ben, Dane and Anareline.
Brannagen casts a preemptive Prayer of Mending on the person with the closest blood glob, trusting it to bounce between those who need it as additional globs arrive.
Ben consecrates the platform beneath their feet and flings another [Divine Guardian] across the group.
Jo attacks the limb, and arcane power arcs from her firebolt to strike the globs of blood.
Dane twists to notice his glob approaching, and charges it, to try and face it down with some space between himself and Anareline and Ben.
Auralind turns her attention to send a volley of imbued arrow shot at the blood globules.
Ralaea tunnel visions the limb, as probably expected by this point. She does not notice the creeping globs.
Almeiria does, and she sets her magic against them.
Shine ducks from the other side of the claw to throw a knife at a creeping blob.
Cressidha calls up a blizzard to slow down the globules even further.
Sil steps in to stab at one of the globs, and it bites him. How did it even do that? Destructive shadow magic creeps up his arm, and he lurches back from it.
"Sil!" Ben cries as Sil lurches back. He doesn't know what's just happened but it doesn't look great: he casts a shield of [Divine Protection] over his friend.
Atley raises Thunderfury and slams the ground, unleashing a Shockwave aimed at the globs to try and slow and hurt them as he himself slowly back pedals.
The globs seem to be regaining their globbiness just as quickly as people are cutting them down, but luckily, the assault on the claw has reached an endpoint.
The Final Stage
Deathwing’s last limb loses its grip. He screams in a fury as he flails in the water, “I AM DEATHWING, THE DESTROYER, THE END OF ALL THINGS, INEVITABLE, INDOMITABLE; I AM THE CATACLYSM!”
“He's completely mad!” Alexstrasza cries.
"F^CK YOU!" Ben bellows back at him.
"They always say thengs like that right before they die," Bran observes, amused.
Finding no purchase, Deathwing slumps forward, his head falling on the platform before Ysera.
Mordecai channels more powerful heals one at a time on everyone who seems in need of one.
"We're the anti-cataclysm, so prepare to be annihilated," Jo snaps, leaping into the air with trust that the winds will bear her to Ysera's platform. They do.
"He's not dead yet," Kyris says bitterly, and leaps.
Ben is right behind Jo. He ain't yellin', Cap'n, he is just sayin'.
Shine shadowsteps again.
Atley licks saltwater from his lips, growing almost giddy with anticipation. He keeps his gaze on Deathwing and leaps to however many platforms he needs to without looking to charge.
Auralind stays on Atley's tail — those heavy, armor footfalls are easy to pick out — leaping behind him to get into position.
Sil is all healed up now, and not infected with shadow poison any longer. He's right behind Ben.
Anareline is ready to fight, she leaps after Ben and Dane.
As everyone arrives at Ysera's platform, three fiery tentacles emerge from the ground, and two pieces of Deathwing's elementium armor break off and become two bound fire elementals. Corrupted blood gushes from Deathwing’s broken body, flowing over the battlefield unavoidably and burning everyone it touches.
Mordecai grabs a feather and levitates up above the streaming blood.
“Is he… coming apart?” Kalecgos asks in horror.
“Press the attack, heroes!” Nozdormu cries.
“Such rage I have never seen…” Ysera murmurs.
“Aspects! Aid the heroes as best you can!” Thrall cries, clinging to the Dragon Soul. “These champions are our only hope for exposing Deathwing's weakness. Together, we can prevail. Strike now, Heroes! Only you can give us our opening!”
“We are with you,” Alexstrasza confirms, and all of the Aspects' blessings return.
Atley starts muttering something doggedly, but his actions remain swift and controlled, as if possessed. "Stormwind… Stormwind!" He sprints in to strike at Deathwing's face with a rush of fury and catharsis. "STORMWIND!" Both taunt, and reminder. He wants it to be one of the last things Deathwing ever hears.
Velrin echoes Dane's warcry with a piercing scream that would make Aviana proud. She bounds through the air as if blessed by the goddess herself as she brings her blade to bear.
The elementals move forward towards the team, burning viciously.
Shine swathes himself in the temporary cloak of the Dream again as he leaps for one of the approaching fire elementals.
Ben roars and charges.
Atley leaps over to the elementals to cleave at them and try to draw their attention, leading them away as best he can despite the cramped room on the rocky platform.
Shine exits the Dream-safety and wraps himself in protective shadow again in lieu.
Ben turns his snarling attention on a tentacle.
They elementals willingly turn towards Atley, striking out at him. There is something in the fire or the metal of their beings, because their attack leave a lingering infection that takes hold immediately and begins to rapidly intensify.
"Dane, the Dream,' Ana calls, trying to pull one of the elementals off and lead them towards Nozdormu's time bubble.
Cressidha focuses on one of the two fire elementals, slowing it down with frost.
Ben casts a glance toward Dane. His prayer of Divine Protection has been temporarily exhausted for Sil. He grits his teeth and focuses again on the tentacle before him.
Atley begins to smolder, bits of his armor growing red hot with the strange after-effect of the elementals. He audibly snaps his teeth together and tries to stubbornly persist before he closes his eyes and slips into the Emerald Dream. He finds himself in a tranquil, gently-lit grove.
Kyris snarls as he is burned by the blood. "Try me," he snaps at one of the elementals Dane was fighting, but once he has its attention he begins moving away.
Shine's cloak of shadows is extinguished, and now he reverts to shifting nimbly in and out among enemies, trying not to linger in any one place too long.
Caspis is unusually active and agile, having shifted out of moonkin form and now casting little bursts of regenerative energy on those near him as he darts erratically over the battlefield, as well as throwing occasional extra heals specifically on Dane.
Suddenly, the three fiery tentacles begin to target people, instead of lashing wildly. It looks very similar to the impalement Auralind dodged on a previous platform. The tentacles target the returned Dane, Cressidha, and Brannagen, lining up an attack.
Cressidha vanishes into the Emerald Dream.
The tentacle targeting Cressidha lashes forward and sort of finds its target… but she is safe in the Emerald Dream.
Brannagen curses in Dwarven, shielding himself, trying to fade, all his usual tricks.
Atley steps out from the phasing, and notes one of the tentacles. Having freshly returned from the Emerald Dream, he's unable to use it for protection again so soon. He raises his shield, more of a gesture of defiance than any sort of actual safety precaution. "Forgive me," he mutters quietly, expecting to die.
Shine, near Dane, glances over and his eye widens. The other man has just exhausted the Dream's protection.
Shine leaps in front of the tentacle.
The tentacle strikes forward quickly to find an unexpected Shine in its path, instead of the expected Atley. The tentacle does not seem to mind the switch in victims. It impales Shine, lashing back to let his body drop to the ground.
Atley's jaw drops in horror, features shifting with an abrupt dismay. "No —" he initially growls in protest, watching Shine get swung around. "NOOO!" Atley leaps to his side and rolls him over.
Shine dies as silently as he does anything else. Which is pretty silently.
"NO!! YE BASTARD!!" Bran cries out, forgetting all about the Emerald Dream in his distress.
Golden wings manifest behind Bran's back as Mordecai stretches out a hand. As the tentacle strikes forward, the wings flex protectively in front of Bran's body. As the tentacle pierces through the wings and into Bran's core, all that golden Light flows into Bran's body, healing him.
"Wot the—" Bran, having expected to do a die, looks around for the source of the Light that flooded into him. He spots Mordecai and whoops in grateful delight before scanning the platform again and moving to hover over Shine, his back to him, eyes on those still living.
Atley jostles and shakes Shine, kneeling over him. "Bloody — fool — !" he snarls, as if trying to rattle him back to life. Tears burn hotly in his eyes.
Almeiria sweeps forward towards Shine. "Protect the body! He may return to us," she says. "I will pull him back. Do not let anything through!"
Jo looks across the field in horror, crying out as first Shine and then Bran are impaled. Then she notes the golden wings and gives a small sigh of relief. One saved.
Ben has no idea who is dead and who is not; he has phased into the Dream and is calling desperately upon his every protective power for those nearest him.
Atley begins to shake. He turns away from Shine and hones in on the impaling tentacle. His teeth rattle in growing rage. A tear mixes in with the ocean spray, and saliva pools at the corner of his lips before getting washed away with the unceasing mist. He explodes into action with a hateful growl and tries to slice through the tentacle.
That tentacle is no match for that level of rage. Dane tears it apart.
Atley charges right past it to strike at Deathwing's maw, leaving nothing behind, every movement and effort to a full frontal assault. "Stormwind! STORMWIND!"
"Shield!" Mordecai calls, protecting Ralaea and giving her a sudden burst of speed.
Ben explodes out of the Dream already flinging Light before him, and then charges the Destroyer with his hammer swinging momentum.
Kyris grunts in acknowledgement to the 7th Legion units that have killed the elemental chasing him, and he charges back towards Deathwing.
Ralaea is completely focused on her enemy, and, seeing the end at hand, she pulls her decently sized rock from her bag, rushes forward and throws it with all her strength at Deathwing, following up with the sharpened wooden stake, the speed from the Shield only enhancing her attack.
The rock and stake find their mark.
A circle of arcane arrows surround the charging warriors, not to attack them, but to cover and assist their assault.
Deathwing collapses, stunned. The Aspects again channel their essence into the Dragon Soul held by Thrall.
“Excellent work,” Alexstrasza says. “The fire of my heart glows with a brilliant purity unmatched; every spark of it I will channel into the Dragon Soul.”
“Yes, well done!” Kalecgos says. “I will realign the flow of mana and fill the Dragon Soul with all my arcane might.”
“It is time,” Nozdormu says. “I will expend everything to bind every thread here, now, around the Dragon Soul. What comes to pass will NEVER be undone.”
“We are one step closer,” Ysera says. “The unknowable, transcendent power of the Emerald Dream I now give unto the Dragon Soul.”
Thrall uses the Dragon Soul, empowered by the Aspects, to unleash one last massive burst of power. Unable to withstand it, Deathwing's corrupted body is obliterated, his armor shattered; a portion of his jaw lands on the platform, all that remains of the Destroyer.
The Aftermath
Ben skids a step back from the mighty, bony jaw as it lands. He stares at it, eyes wild, as if he expects it to perform some new bonkers attack. After a moment he lowers his shield warily.
Atley steps aside at the last second to dodge Thrall's attack, and takes another second to move away from the jaw, his breathing still rapid.
Auralind finally lowers Rhok'delar, her other hand rubbing one of her very sore shoulders.
Mordecai casts a Prayer of Healing and then begins to circulate among the living.
The Resurrection of Shine
The moment people around him are no longer being actively and direly wounded, Bran BOLTS over toward Shine's body, hands already beginning to glow with the Light.
Estel bolts towards Shine's body as well, and skids to a halt next to it.
Almeiria has dragged Shine a safe distance from the fighting. Or as safe as one can get on a platform. She glances up as Bran and Estel arrive.
Atley pushes his way through the crowd to get to Shine and the healers."Bring him up. Now." he orders, and pleads.
"Hey!" Bran calls out, his voice rough. "Get back here, we've got some celebratory drenkin' ta do… come on lad… come on…" He closes his eyes, reaching out, focusing.
Atley nods Brannagen on, rapidly running his tongue along his lower lip as he kneels at Shine's side without looking up from the corpse. He doesn't dare interrupt.
Almeiria withdraws from Shine as the healers gather. It's not like she cared or something. She moves to the water's edge again.
Shine remains silent for several tense moments. He is super good at being silent even when he is dead. Or especially, I guess.
Then he chokes a breath, and gasps another, and opens his eye. He looks around in some perplexed consternation.
"This is no time fer a nap, lad," Bran says a bit shakily. "We just killed Deathweng."
"He's up!" Estel calls over her shoulder, and backs up to give Shine some personal space.
Atley sags in place, and stops himself from falling over by planting a gauntlet on the ground. "Well done," he mutters to Brannagen. "Bloody well done."
Jo breathes deeply, taking a moment to realize it's truly over. Then she blinks over to Brannagen and the others who are standing by the now-resurrected Shine. "Is he okay? Are you okay? I saw… that looked deadly."
"Oh, aye, aye, very deadly," Bran says amiably. "But I go' better, thanks to the shy Aspenwood over there."
Without giving Shine another moment to recalibrate, Atley stands and tries to yank him to his feet.
Shine sits up unsteadily. He draws his knees up and drapes his forearms over them casually. "We what the fuck?" He casts a baffled, disbelieving look from Bran to Dane — and then is unceremoniously yanked to his feet. "Oi," he says.
Atley tries to clasp Shine firmly on the shoulder, jutting out his jaw with both rage and relief. He also attempts to shake him. "We won. Deathwing is dead."
Shine is shaken. Physically. Although he also looks a little mentally shaken. He gives Dane an uncomprehending look, and then looks around the platform at everyone else, and the massive jawbone.
He laughs softly, unevenly, and wipes the back of his wrist across his mouth.
The Kaldorei
Anareline moves over to Caspis, staring at the jawbone. "It is over. A conflict of over ten thousand years."
"I can scarcely believe it," Caspis says quietly. He looks somewhat awed and shaken, and slightly disoriented, but all in all he seems to be handling this inexplicably better than he handled the death of Fandral Staghelm.
Auralind strolls up to Caspis and gives him a rough knuckling to his arm. "Believe it, rul'denore. We just saved the world. Breathe easy…for a while, at least."
As the rush of battle slowly fades, Velrin wanders her way over to Ana and Cas. She glances back at Dane seeing him mourning over Shine and frowns a little.
"With the Lich King gone, and Deathwing…" Caspis muses, "it seems Azeroth may indeed have some peace in store." Caspis is a druid, not a prophet.
Velrin starts to cry. The exact reason is unclear. She might just be a bit overwhelmed by the whole situation, "I'm just glad that even through all this we still have eachother. The goddess has been merciful to me…" Velrin tries to go in for a hug.
Anareline moves to embrace her.
Ben and Sil
Ben looks around to take slightly-dazed stock. "Sil?" he asks.
Sil slips out of the shadows, looking a little shaky. "Yeah. I'm here, nothing got me. Did we just kill Deathwing?"
Ben looks from Sil to the jawbone and back again. After a long silence his expression splits into a wobbly smile. "We just — we killed fucken Deathwing."
Ben whoops. "WE KILLED FUCKEN DEATHWING." He grabs Sil for a back-thumpy man-hug.
(He is missing the solemnity of the dead guy moment, as around them the 7th Legion and others collect their own dead.)
Sil laughs, some of the shakiness fading, as he accepts the back-thumpy man-hug! "I can't believe… the cataclysm, it's really over!" Sil says joyfully.
The Loss of the Aspects
The weakened Aspects bring themselves to their feet as Thrall and Aggra stand near the edge, looking down into the Maelstrom.
“I can feel the elements awakening; rejoicing…” Thrall says. “The Cataclysm is over.”
“The champions who fought at our side assured the survival of our world…” Alexstrasza says. “But now, we must see it, with mortal eyes.”
As Alexstrasza speaks, the glow in her eyes fades; one by one, the same happens with Ysera and Kalecgos. The sands of time from his broken spaulder pour into Nozdormu's hand.
Atley slowly turns to stare at Alexstrasza and removes his hand from Shine. His face takes on a glare of wary awe.
Ben, his arm slung around Sil's shoulders, stares at the Aspects dragons. His arm drops heavily away from Sil.
Sil, standing next to Ben, just looks confused. "Did they just say… they're not the Aspects anymore?"
Shine watches Alexstrasza, looking as faintly baffled as he has been by everything else in the last couple of minutes.
Caspis now looks genuinely devastated. Excuse you .. what?
Anareline looks shocked. "Such a cost."
Caspis literally sits down. Just sits down on the ground looking lost and distressed.
Mordecai, having circled back to the group, puts a hand on Caspis's shoulder. "Are you all right?"
"They're gone…" Caspis says, looking up at Mordecai tearfully. "We have slain them all."
Mordecai squeezes Caspis's shoulder gently. "No," he says. "They're right there. They've just changed."
Caspis says nothing, just attempts to pull Mordecai into a hug.
Mordecai kneels down to hug Caspis properly.
Anareline moves over to sit by Caspis's other side. She has no comfort to give, just her presence, and an acknowledgment of the loss.
Atley gives Caspis' shoulder a firm, empathetic squeeze and stands to allow Anareline more room. Atley nods at her with a grunt.
A New Beginning
“We dragon aspects have fulfilled our great purpose and our ancient power… is expended,” Alexstrasza says, as her power fades. “But though our day draws to an end, life endures… and new generations will be born.” Alexstrasza places a hand on Aggra's abdomen, indicating she is pregnant.
“Today's victory belongs to all who stood against the shadow,” Alexstrasza says. “You are Azeroth's true Guardians,” Alexstrasza says, turning to the heroes. “And the future of this world is in your hands — for the dawning of the age of mortals has begun.”
Cressidha stares a little blankly at Alextrasza.
Auralind's ears nearly stand on end when the Dragon Queen implies that Aggra is with child. Her typical hardened scowls she has for orcs has melted, her mouth half open in awe.
Atley slowly shifts his gaze to Thrall and turns his head to the side, a wave of mixed feelings visibly washing over him, as palpable as the actual Maelstrom just meters away.
"Congratulations," Cressidha says softly to Thrall and Aggra.
Thrall and Aggra smile at Cressidha, and Thrall says, "May this little one grow in a more peaceful and balanced world."
Sil's expression clears as he notices Thrall and Aggra, and he takes a step closer. "Hey, yeah, that's great news. Hope for the best for you."
Atley's face twitches, and he inclines his head, opening his mouth to say something to Thrall before he stops himself, merely setting his jaw instead.
Departure
Almeiria does not look particularly celebratory about anything, her shadows still trembling around her. "Are we planning to stand around this wretched place forever?" Her voice is possibly sharper than she intends.
"Aye! Bran says, possibly not really agreeing with Almeiria at all in spirit, actually, as his following words illustrate. "There's drenkin' ta be done!!"
Jo looks around. "Cressidha and I can set up portals… or Kalecgos…" Jo falls silent. She may be afraid Kalecgos can't even make portals anymore. (He can, Jo, don't worry.)
Ben shrugs slowly, still staring at the dragons. He turns his head toward Bran and then Jo at the mention of drenkin' and portals.
Atley looks to Shine and growls lowly with dark amusement, shaking his head. "Guardian of Azeroth or not, you do that again, and I'll kill you myself." he jokes(?).
Shine looks a little nonplussed. Then he smiles very faintly. "Aye, sir."
Atley slowly marches over to kneel beside Caspis, clasping him on the shoulder. He doesn't say anything, but he stares in the same direction, gaze drifting to the spinning Maelstrom.
Shine still stands where Dane left him, looking loose-limbed and inscrutable. He studies the distraught druid and then looks to Alexstrasza again. Then he glances at Almeiria.
"Dalaran?" Cressidha asks Jo, and flicks a portal stone up in the air. It cracks open to reveal Dalaran.
"Dalaran," Jo nods, flicking up her own portal stone and opening a twin portal. Twice as fast for people to go through.
Almeiria returns Shine's glance, though it is hard to tell through the shadows. She says nothing, however, disappearing through one of the portals as soon as one is available.
Ben moves with dreamlike slowness toward a portal and then stops to survey the group, waiting for others to go safely ahead of him.
Shine looks like he's not wholly certain what the portals are for.
Sil moves along towards the portals. He is not eager to linger here.
Atley marches up to Shine on his way out. "Well. You saved my life, then" he observes flatly.
Shine blinks at him. "Aye, sir," he says politely.
Atley grunts and shakes his head again with some amusement. "Time to bugger off." He stoops through a portal and leaves.
Shine waits for a moment as if someone else might have further instructions for him. He studies Alexstrasza again. Then he buggers off.